In Indonesia and Sri Lanka, government bodies and aid organizations are racing to deliver aid to hundreds of thousands stranded by severe flooding that has claimed about 1,200 lives across four nations.
Last week’s heavy monsoon rains, compounded by two distinct tropical cyclones, drenched all of Sri Lanka and parts of Indonesia’s Sumatra, as well as southern Thailand and northern Malaysia.
Climate change is intensifying rain events as a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, and warmer seas can amplify storms.
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Although the floodwaters have mostly receded, the aftermath has left hundreds of thousands in shelters, struggling for clean water and food.
In Aceh, one of Indonesia’s hardest-hit areas, residents reported to AFP that those who could afford it were stockpiling essentials.
“Roads are mostly inaccessible in flood-hit areas,” mentioned 29-year-old Erna Mardhiah while waiting in a long line at a Banda Aceh gas station.
“There’s a fear of running out of fuel,” she noted after waiting two hours.
The situation has driven prices up dramatically.
“Prices are already soaring… just chillies are 300,000 rupiah per kilo ($18), which is likely causing panic buying,” she said.
On Monday, Indonesia’s government announced it was dispatching 34,000 tonnes of rice and 6.8 million litres of cooking oil to the three most affected provinces: Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra.
“Delays are not an option,” said Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman.
– Risk of Food Shortage –
Relief groups are working to distribute supplies to hit regions, cautioning that local markets are running dry and prices have already tripled.
“Communities in Aceh face a grave risk of food shortages and hunger if supply lines aren’t restored within a week,” warned Islamic Relief.
A shipment of 12 tonnes of food from the group on an Indonesian navy ship was scheduled to arrive in Aceh on Tuesday.
In Sumatra, floods have killed at least 631 people, with 472 still missing. The disaster agency reported a million people have been displaced.
Survivors recounted terrifying waves of water appearing unexpectedly.
In East Aceh, Zamzami described the floodwaters as “unstoppable, like a tsunami wave.”
“We can’t describe how massive the water seemed; it was truly remarkable,” said the 33-year-old, who, like many Indonesians, uses one name.
Residents in his village sought refuge on the roof of a two-storey fish market to avoid the deluge, now working to clear mud and debris while dealing with power and communication outages.
“Access to clean water is a struggle,” he reported to AFP on Monday.
“Children are starting to develop fevers, and there is no medicine.”
The weather system that flooded Indonesia also brought heavy rainfall to southern Thailand, resulting in at least 176 deaths.
In Malaysia, two more fatalities were reported.
– Colombo Floodwaters Recede –
A different storm led to heavy rains throughout Sri Lanka, causing flash floods and deadly landslides that killed at least 390 people.
Another 352 remain unaccounted for, with some of the worst-affected areas in the central region still hard to access.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has declared a state of emergency to tackle what he termed the “most challenging natural disaster in our history.”
Unlike his Indonesian counterpart, he has appealed for international assistance.
Sri Lanka’s air force, with support from India and Pakistan, has been evacuating stranded residents and delivering food and other supplies.
In the mountainous Welimada area, security forces recovered the bodies of 11 residents buried by mudslides, according to a local official.
In Colombo, the capital, floodwaters were slowly receding by Tuesday.
The rapid rise in water levels caught city residents, accustomed to seasonal flooding, off guard.
“We face minor floods every year, but this was different,” delivery driver Dinusha Sanjaya told AFP.
“It’s not just the volume of water but how quickly everything submerged.”
Rains have lessened across the nation, but landslide warnings remain in effect in most of the severely impacted central regions, officials said.
